Standard 5:

In addition to participating in high-quality professional development and regular PLT collaborations, I have expanded my PLN to include aligning with other teaching professionals and dynamos in the TESOL field (such as Dr Maria Ragel, Carol Salva, Larry Ferlazzo, Tan Huynh, Emily Francis, and #VirtuEL) and participating in Twitter chats to continue my professional growth and development, to strengthen my skills as an language development specialist, and remain up-to-date on ESL best practices -- @MrsSimmonsESL. Here are a few of the texts I have read recently (this year) to build my own capacity as a academic language teacher:

• Boosting Achievement for Students with Interrupted or Minimal Education, by Salva and Matis
• The Core Six, Essential Strategies for Achieving Excellence with the Common Core, by Silver, Dewing, and Perini
• 7 Steps to a Language-Rich Classroom: Research-based Strategies for Engaging All Students, by Seidlitz and Perryman
• The New Art and Science of Teaching, by Marzano
• Preventing Long-Term ELs: Transforming Schools to Meet Core Standards, by Calderon and Minaya-Rowe
• The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners, by Short, Becker, Cloud, Hellman, and Levine
• "Learning Progressions Framework Designed for Use with The Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts & Literacy K-12," by Hess and Kearns
• "Describing 26 Habits of Mind," by Costa and Kallick

I have seen the most impact in my classroom from the strategies implement from the first three texts listed although I have referenced them all at various points throughout the year. My favorites are the ones that I can share with the students in order to help them become more reflective and, as such, better scholars- such as the "Describing 26 Habits of Mind" article.